Window shade apparatus



June 25, 1968 1.. ROTH WINDOW SHADE APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledFeb. 23, 1967 FIGI FIGZ

INVENTOR ATTORNEY S.

June 25, 1968 L. ROTH WINDOW SHADE APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGS FiledFeb. 23, 1967 FIG. 10

United States Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLQSURE This invention relatesto window shades and more particularly to a retractable window shadeinstallation for simultaneously raising and lowering the shades of aplurality of windows arranged in a horizontal series such as in sunrooms or enclosures for patios, porches and the like. The windows anddoor each have a roller mounted by end brackets to the framework aboveeach window and to the top of the door on the exterior of the room. Aflexible shade is wound on each roller for raising and lowering inresponse to rotation of the roller. The invention relates principally tomeans for connecting the rollers of adjacent windows and the door rollerfor simultaneous rotation to simultaneously raise and lower all theshades of the installation. The structure includes a coupling connectingthe rollers of the adjacent windows for simultaneous rotation and auniversal means connecting the roller of the door to the roller of thewindow adjacent the hinged edge portion of the door for simultaneousrotation. A drive rod is rotatably mounted above the rollers out of thepath of movement of the door and is connected by appropriate gears tothe rollers of the extreme opposite windows of the series forsimultaneous rotation. A motor is mounted on the interior of the roomand has a drive shaft which extends through the rooms framework indriving connection with one of the window rollers to ro;ate the same andthereby simultaneously rotate the remaining rollers of the windows anddoor to raise and lower all of the shades of the installation. One ofthe end brackets of one of the rollers comprises a gear box forreceiving the drive shaft from the motor and to drivingly connect thesame to the window roller supported by the bracket. The remaining endbrackets of adjacent window rollers comprise coupling means with whichthe window rollers are readily disengageable such that each individualroller and the shade wound thereon may be removed for repair orreplacement.

Background of the invention Sun rooms or enclosed patios, porches andthe like have become increasingly popular and normally include ahorizontal series of windows with a door between two of the windows.Instead of employing glass windows, it has be come popular to cover thewindow opening with transparent plastic sheeting material wound on aroller with the side edges of the sheeting received and guided invertical grooves at the sides of the window framework. With most suchinstallations heretofore available, it is necessary to have individualdriving means for each window roller to raise and lower the plasticwindow shade. However, it is more desirable to simultaneously raise andlower the shades for the entire series of windows, and this isespecially desirable when a sudden rain storm occurs to avoid damage tothe interior of the room and furniture contained therein. Heretofore,the provision of such a common driving means has been quite elaborateand expensive and has merely added to the already relatively high costof such installations. This is especially true when a door is disposedbetween two windows of the series because it is equally desirable tosimultaneously raise and lower the shade covering the door window, butsince the door breaks the driving chain between adjacent windows 33%,738Patented June 25, 1968 ice it has been ditficult to provide a simpleefiicient structure. This invention is directed primarily to solvingsuch problems and to providing a simple, inexpensive means forsimultaneously raising and lowering not only the window shades ofadjacent windows but the window shade of a door disposed between two ofthe windows of the series. The various couplings, driving links anduniversal connections disclosed herein all cooperate to provide a noveland useful window shade installation of the character described.

Summary of the invention The principal object of this invention is toprovide a new and improved retractable window shade installation.

Another object of this invention is to provide a retractable windowshade installation of the character described for simultaneously raisingand lowering the window shades of a plurality of windows arranged in ahorizontal series.

A further object of this invention is to provide a retractable windowshade installation of the character described including means forsimultaneously raising and lowering the window shade of a door windowalong with the window shades disposed on each side of the door, thedriving means being mounted out of the path of movement of the door, andincluding a universal means connecting the window shade roller of thedoor and the roller of an adjacent window to maintain a drivingconnection between said rollers notwithstanding the necessity of openingand closing the door.

Description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sun room,enclosed patio, porch or the like;

FIG. 2 is a partial elevational view on an enlarged scale of the frontof the installation shown in FIG. 1 to illustrate the drivingconnections between the window shade rollers of the windows and thedoor;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional View taken generally along the line 33 ofeither FIG. 2 or FIG. 4;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken generally along line 44 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally along the line 55of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an elevation view similar to that of FIG. 2 of the side of theinstallation shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view taken generally in the direction ofline 77 of FIG. 2, showing the window roller coupling in a position topermit removal of the roller;

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view similar to that of FIG. 7 with thecoupling in position preventing removal of the window roller;

FIG. 9 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the universal connectionbetween the window shade roller for the door and the adjacent windowroller; and

FIG. 10 is a horizontal sectional view taken generally along the line10-1tl of FIG. 2 illustrating one end of the universal connectionillustrated in FIG. 9.

Detailed description of the invention Referring to the drawings ingreater detail, the invention is illustrated herein as installed on asun room or enclosed patio, porch or the like, two sides of which areillustrated in FIG. 1. F refers to the front of the room and S denotesthe side of the room. The room has a piurality of windows W1 through W5arranged in a horizontal series in the framework 13 of the room and thestructure of this invention is designed to simultaneously raise andlower the window shade rollers (hereinafter described) of the series ofwindows. As will be more fully set forth below, the device may operateonly the rollers of the windows in a single wall or may extend aroundcorner 12 O of the room and yet simultaneously rotate all the Windowshade rollers of the room. An important feature of the invention is topermit simultaneous rotation of the rollers of each windownotwithstanding the disposition of a door (FIG. 1) between two of thewindows of the series. In fact, as will be hereinafter described, awindow shade roller may be disposed at the top of the door forsimultaneous rotation with the rollers of the windows in the series.

Referring to FIG. 4, each window W1 through W3 of the side wall S of theroom has a roller R1 through R3, respectively, which is mounted by endbrackets 14 to the framework above the respective window on the exteriorof the room. Each roller is designed to have a window shade woundthereon for raising and lowering in response to rotation of the roller.As will be more fully described later, the bracket between adjacentwindows (for instance bracket 14a between rollers R1 and R2 in FIG. 6)comprises a readily disengageable coupling to connect adjacent rollersfor simultaneous rotation and. permit removal of the rollers for repairor replacement.

As best illustrated in FIG. 3, a motor M is mounted on the framework 13on the interior of the room and comprises the drive means for rotatingthe rollers. A drive shaft 16 extends through the framework 13 forconnecting the motor to the rollers to drive the rollers. Referring toFIGS. 3 and 6, bracket 1412, between rollers R2 and R3, comprises a gearbox for receiving one end of the drive shaft 16. A similar bracket isshown in FIG. 2 at the right end of roller R4. A worm gear 18 is fixedto the drive shaft 16 within bracket 14b for rotating the rollers R2 andR3 through a gear 19 which is coupled to the rollers. The drive shaft 16is rotated by motor M through gears 20a and 20!). This driving means isseen in FIG. 6 as mounted on the side wall S such that the motor Msimultaneously rotates rollers R1, R2 and R3 to simultaneously raise andlower the shades for windows W1, W2 and W3.

It is usually desirable to have a door in one wall of the room as isbest seen in the front wall F of FIG. 1. However, the door breaks thedriving chain between adjacent rollers when using the basic structure asshown in FIG. 6 and a modification is required. As best seen in FIGS. 1and 2, the door is hinged along one vertical edge 22 adjacent window Wand the respective roller R5. The door is provided with a roller R6adjacent the top of the door approximately the same height as rollers R4and R5 of adjacent windows. A universal means generally designated 24connects roller R6 at the top of the door with the roller R5 of windowW5 adjacent the hinged edge 22 of the door. The universal means is bestillustrated in FIGS. 9 and and will hereinafter be described in moredetail. The universal means connects the rollers R5 and R6 forsimultaneous rotation notwithstanding the opening and closing of thedoor. A drive rod 26 is rotatably mounted on the framework 13 above therollers out of the path of movement of the door. The drive rod 26 isoperatively connected to the rollers R4 and R5 of the extreme oppositewindows W4 and W5, respectively through gear means disposed in endbrackets 140 which are shown in detail in FIG. 4. The end brackets 140comprise a gear box for housing gears 26, 28 and 30 (FIG. 4). Gear 26 issecured to the ends of drive rod 26 and operates through a spacer gear28 for rotating a gear 39 which is coupled to the end rollers R4 and R5.The spacer gear 28 is provided to space the drive rod 26 sufficientlyabove the top of the door to be out of the path of movement of the door.The spacer gear may be eliminated and the gears 26 and 30 enlarged butsuch would require unduly large end brackets 140 housing the gears andasethetically detract from the installation. The roller R4 is providedwith a bracket 14b at its right hand end in FIG. 2 which is similar tothe bracket 14b in FIG. 6 and comprises a gear box for receiving one endof a drive shaft from a motor M on the interior of the room opposite theroller R4. The structure of the motor and the means for connecting thesame to the roller R4 is identical to the structure shown in FIG. 3 asdescribed above.

The operation of that portion of the installation shown in FIG. 2mounted on the front Wall F is as follows. The motor M, through a driveshaft extending through the wall into gear box bracket 14b rotatesrollre R4. Roller R4 is connected to drive rod 26 through the gear meansillustrated in FIG. 4 which in turn is operably connected at its otherend, through similar gear means, to roller R5. Roller R5 is oper-ablyconnected by universal means 24 to roller R6 of the door. Thus, all ofthe rollers mounted on the front wall, including the door roller R6, aresimultaneously rotated by means of a single motor notwithstanding thenecessity of opening and closing the door. Obviously, additional windowsmay be disposed in the series and operated as the windows of the sidewall S, as illustrated in FIG. 6.

Should it be desirable to simultaneously raise and lower the windowshades of the side wall and the front wall by a single drive means, oneof the motors illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 6 and shown in detail in FIG. 5may be eliminated and the rollers R3 and R4 of the windows W3 and W4,respectively, adjacent the corner 12 of the room may be connected forsimultaneous rotation by a means illustrated in FIG. 5. Each of therollers R3 and R4 is coupled to an extension rod 32 and 34,respectively, for rotation there with. The extension rods 32 and 34 areoperatively connected for simultaneous rotation by bevel gears 36 and38, respectively. The bevel gears may be enclosed within a housing 40secured to the framework 13 at the corner 12 on the exterior of theroom.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, each of the brackets 14 and 141: seen inFIGS. 2 and 6 comprises a coupling for readily disengageably mountingthe rollers to the framework walls of the room and, as with bracket 14ain FIG. 6, couple one roller R1 with the adjacent roller R2. Thecoupling includes a coupling shaft 42 rotatably supported by the bracket14a and includes cylindrical roller connecting rings 44 encircling andretaining the ends of the rollers therein. Each roller has a rib ortongue 46 shown in section in FIGS. 7 and 8 disposed on at least one endof the roller and which is received in a complementary groove 48 in theend wall of the coupling shaft 42. The roller connecting ring 44 has aslot 50 which may be selectively aligned with the rib 46 and slot 48 topermit the roller to be disengaged from the coupling by moving the rib46 through the slot 50 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 7. In orderto hold the roller in driving connection with the coupling shaft 42, thecylindrical retaining ring 44 is rotated in the direction of arrow B,FIG. 7, such that the slot 50' is out of alignment with the rib 46 andgroove 48 as best illustrated in FIG. 8. In this position, the retainingring 44 blocks movement of tongue 46 out of slot 48. Rotation of theretaining ring 44 is limited by a stop pin 52 extending outwardly fromthe coupling shaft 42 into an arcuate slot 54. The ends 54a, 54b of theslot 54 form stop means for abutting the stop pin 52 and define thedisengaging, FIG. 7, and holding, FIG. 8, positions of the retainingring 44.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show in detail the universal means connecting the doorroller R6 with the adjacent window roller R5 and includes a flexibleuniversal shaft 56 slidably connected to coupling shafts 42a mounted bybrackets 14d to each of the front wall F and the door. The couplingshafts 42a are disengageably coupled to the rollers R5 and R6 bycoupling means discribed above and shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. The universalshaft 56 has elongated slots 58, FIG. 10, in its opposite ends throughwhich pins 60 extend. The pin 60 at the right end of universal shaft 56is fixed to the coupling shaft 42a and imparts rotary motion from rollerR5 to the universal shaft 56 by bearing against the walls of the slot58. A similar structure connects the left end of the universal shaft 56to the door roller R6. The slots 58 provide a lost motion connection topermit the universal shaft to move in relation to the brackets 14c androllers R5 and R6 as the universal shaft 56 flexes on opening andclosing movement of the door.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understoodtherefrom as some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in theart.

Iclaim:

1. In a retractable window shade installation comprising a plurality ofwindows arranged in a horizontal series in a framework with a doorhinged along one vertical edge thereof and located between two of saidwindows, said windows and door each having a roller mounted by endbrackets to the framework above the respective window and adjacent thetop of said door, and a flexible shade wound on each of said rollers forraising and lowering in response to rotation of the rollers: meansconnecting the rollers of adjacent windows for simultaneous rotation;universal means connecting the roller of said door to the roller of thewindow adjacent the hinged edge portion of the door for simultaneousrotation; said connecting means comprising a drive rod rotatably mountedon said framework above said rollers out of the path of movement of saiddoor gear, means operatively connecting said drive rod to at least onewindow roller on opposite sides of said door for simultaneous rotation,and a drive means for rotating one of said window rollers and therebysimultaneously rotating the remaining rollers of said windows and doorto simultaneously raise and lower all the shades of said installation.

2. The retractable window shade installation of claim 1 wherein one ofthe end brackets of each of said. window rollers on opposite sides ofsaid door to which said drive rod is operatively connected includes agear box for receiving the ends of said drive rod, and gear means withineach of said gear boxes connecting said drive rod with said rollers.

3. The retractable window shade installation of claim 2 wherein saidgear means includes a first gear connected to the roller, a second gearconnected to the drive rod, and a spacer gear operatively connectingsaid first and second gear to space said drive rod out of the path ofmovement of said d-oor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 483,950 10/1892 Vayre 160-420642,423 1/ 1900 Brodie 160-120 1,187,648 6/ 1916 Perry l--120 1,158,82411/1915 McCloud 120 1,377,461 5/1921 Brixey 160-l20 DAVID J.WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

PETER M. CAUN, Examiner.

